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Sunday, 27 April 2014

Each day, more people are partaking in the profitable venture known as real estate, and National Realty Investment Advisors
indicates that investors in the city of Philadelphia are no exception.
Although based in northern New Jersey for easy access for its quad-state
investors, National Realty is a prominent component of the City of
Brotherly Love’s real estate market.

This specialty single-family
residential management firm seeks to help investors, developers,
homeowners, and related parties with their real estate investment needs.
In a time when many people cannot afford to buy under today’s strict
credit regulations, the rental market has exploded. Managed real estate
is a smart business decision because tenants pay off your mortgage and
provide you cash flow – when a property is done right. However, as an
owner and operator “hands-on” landlord it can be quite difficult to
maintain a property. There are various aspects that some people tend to
overlook before they dive into this endeavor themselves.

People who are just starting their careers
as landlords need to be careful when it comes to selecting tenants. When
managing a property, they need to realize they are handing over the
keys to the unit to strangers. Sometimes, renters may not have the same
concerns in mind as the landlord. National Realty Investment Advisors
strongly urges landlords to take the time to carefully identify and screen their tenants before allowing them to sign any lease. A
landlord’s number one priority should be to look out for their
investment by selecting the right tenants. In order to pick the right
residents, landlords are advised to follow some guidelines.

First and foremost, landlords must adhere to the Federal Fair
Housing Act. Even though property owners want to find suitable
tenants for their residence, it does not mean that they can bypass
this regulation. Landlords in the United States have no right to
discriminate against tenants based on race, color, nationality,
religion, sex, family status, or disability. In addition to this,
some states even have their own fair housing rules that make it
illegal to “steer” potential tenants toward or away from
properties. National Realty Investment Advisors stresses the
importance of following these regulations, or else the landlord can
end up with a huge legal debacle on their hands.

NRIA believes that good tenants
have respectable credit. Landlords will want to find residents who
are financially responsible and who will have no problem paying rent
each month. There are several ways to verify if a tenant is
dependable when it comes to their finances. Verifying their income is
one method and is often the easiest way to track a person’s
credibility. Provide a credit application to the tenant that releases
the authorization to receive their confidential financial
information. Make sure that application passes current legal muster.
Have it reviewed by an attorney for proper disclosures.

The landlord
should also request a copy of the latest month’s pay stubs from the
prospective tenant along with at least one month’s asset
statements. Two months is preferable. Check to see if they have any non sufficient fund charges from bouncing checks or if the deposits
match their paychecks. Check their cash balances. Check to see that
the previous landlord’s rent check cleared and matches the
information they provided about that rent and landlord. Landlords can
also call the tenant’s employer directly and ask several verifying
questions. It is wise to confirm the employment, their monthly
earnings and the length of time that the tenant has been working. A
general rule of thumb is that a tenant’s monthly income should be
three times their monthly rent.

National Realty Investment Advisors recommends running an official
credit check. Again, with the proper disclosure and permission forms
filled out by the tenant, one may also have to charge the prospective
renter a credit check application fee. Landlords will want to see if
their potential residents have a history of paying their bills in a
timely manner and if they have ever had prior evictions, civil
judgments, or bankruptcies. Another factor to be on the lookout for
is the debt-to-income ratio or “DTI”. Again, generally rent
should be one third to 38 percent maximum of the monthly gross
paycheck income.

National Realty Investment Advisors states that landlords would be
wise to perform criminal background checks on their clients. A
thorough check will include a Federal Court Record Search, a
Statewide Criminal Record Search, a County Criminal Court Search, a
Department of Corrections Offender Search, and a Sexual Offender
Database Search. Criminal information is usually held on public
record, and landlords should do the best to protect themselves. In
order to conduct a record check, all that the landlord needs is a
name and birth date. In some instances, tenants may try to falsify
information or try to hide their criminal records, so landlords
should ask for a photo ID as well. A point of caution worth noting is
that some states prohibit discrimination due to certain criminal
convictions. The landlord will have to find a justifiable reason for
turning down a tenant in various circumstances. Check with local
legal counsel on these matters.

The ideal tenant has a consistent lifestyle. Landlords should look
at their tenant’s background and credit check application to see if
they have a habit of frequently changing jobs or residences. If they
display a habit of moving often, then the landlord will want to be
prepared to handle an abandoned unit or an eviction. National Realty
Investment states it is much easier to be prepared ahead of time than
it is to wait until the tenant leaves and have to start from scratch
to find a new resident. Better yet look for a new tenant with more
stability.

National Realty Investment Advisors Lists Important Tenant
Questions

Before leasing a unit to a tenant, National Realty Investment
Advisors recommends that landlords ask the appropriate questions. One
effective tactic is to talk to the tenant’s previous two landlords
to find out some important information. Tenants may be hesitant about
revealing information from their last places of residence, so a
landlord might have to do a little investigating on their own. When
meeting with a previous landlord, there are several questions that
should be asked.

Did the tenant pay their rent on
time?

Why did the tenant decide to move
out of their current residence?

Was the tenant evicted due to
non-payment of rent or because they broke residential rules?

Did the tenant give a 30-day
notice prior to the move?

How clean was the apartment kept
during their residence?

Did the tenant cause any extensive
damage to the unit besides normal wear and tear?

Was the tenant respectful to their
neighbors?

Did the tenant complain often?

“It can be slightly difficult to find out the history of some
tenants such as first-time renters or college students. In order to
protect your assets, you should have them get a co-signer for their
lease,” recommends Art Scutaro, Senior Project Manager from
National Realty Investment Advisors.

Wednesday, 23 April 2014

According to National Realty Investment Advisors (NRIA), real estate
investments are extremely lucrative diversification from financial
paper assets especially for investors who are looking for long term
gains. As experts in real estate investments and already known for
building high valuation properties by locating unique and undervalued
land, National Realty Investment Advisors has proven that if done
correctly, real estate investments are stable income producing hard
assets with real value and that can do wonders for your financial
future.

The buy undervalue in City environments, build at wholesale costs,
and rent strategy so well proven by, NRIA, is particularly true in
the case of real estate investments in the Center City area of
Philadelphia, PA. Focusing exclusively on Philadelphia Investment
Properties since 1996, NRIA has become the largest developer of
custom Town Home rentals in the City. NRIA has a deep knowledge and
command over real estate investment opportunities in Philadelphia
including the different legal, zoning, permitting, building and
rental codes and how to obtain very high return results safely. This
is the reason why senior investment experts at National Realty
Investment Advisors see a lot of opportunity for serious investors in
Philadelphia.

A major reason for their excitement is the 10-year tax abatement
that is offered by the Board of Revision of Taxes to people who are
interested in new housing development or existing housing
rehabilitation. NRIA believes that such tax abatements provide the
ideal opportunity for serious and long term investors to make highly
profitable and long lasting real estate investments. At the same time
the tax abatement has proven to be highly beneficial for the overall
development of the City of Philadelphia, something NRIA is keenly
interested in.

However, the investment experts at NRIA also know that that if the
proper homework and research is not done before making your real estate investment, then it may cost you the investor thousands of
dollars. This is why it is extremely important to be aware of all the
financial, legal and social factors before making a large investment
in real estate – or have experts guide you safely.

There are a number of factors that an investor should consider
before making the decision to invest in real estate. However,National Realty InvestmentAdvisorshighlights the 5 most important things to consider.

1. If you’re on your own Make Sure You’re Financially
Ready

Although real estate investments can be extremely tempting due to
their high returns, you need to be careful before you make the
decision to invest your money – especially if you are going it
alone. Make sure you know what it takes to be a real estate investor.
It is by no means a way to become an overnight millionaire –
without guidance. Real estate investments often take time to sell. So
make sure you know what you’re doing or get competent expert advice

2. Have a Solid Investment Plan – or else have one
prepared for you.

Any long term investment requires significant planning in order to
give successful returns. When you decide to invest in real estate,
make sure you have a solid plan. One of the main reasons behind the
success of the National Realty Investment Advisors, according to Dan
Hirshout Senior Project Manager, is to the systematic implementation
for purchasing, building, and renting the real property investments
of its customers efficiently. NRIA is well known for its ability to
locate unique and undervalued land that can be efficiently developed
for rapid earnings within 1 year. Therefore, make sure you also have
some sort of a plan before you make a real estate investment – or
else tap into the system of the experts.

3. Evaluate the Location Carefully

Location, location, location, - that’s Real Estate Rule #1!
Prime locations at under value prices are hard to find – but they
exist. And that’s exactly what you want – Prime undervalued land.
That takes study, experience, and market knowledge. In fact, location
is probably the most significant factor that will decide the success
or failure of your investment even if just outside prime locations.
This is one of the primary reasons why NRIA prefers Philadelphia for
real estate investments. According to them, Philadelphia has numerous
tax, rental, and business advantages for real estate investors when
compared with other Cities. Therefore, be very careful about the
location of your investment and know your City. Or leave it to the
experts.

4. Knowing the Right Time to Invest

If you have the opportunity to invest in the most ideal real
estate property at the best location in the country, but if you don’t
have a systematic acquisition, development, and rental plan it will
never be the right time to jump in. Proper due diligence and property
value, rental potential and newly built re-sale value is what creates
the right timing. There are always good deals to be uncovered with
the proper due diligence investigatory tools due the vast size of the
real estate market. It just takes expert digging it all out! Today
since the enactment of the Dodd-Frank banking regulations, creation
of a truly independent appraisal process, requirements that all
buyers/borrowers be able to pay and prove full income documentation,
and the write down and recalibration of all balance sheets and
inflated values written off since the time of the 2008 financial
crisis, we are now in the most stable US Real Estate market in
history. Those controls along with the government’s deep regulatory
involvement in controlling interest rates make now the time to invest
in discounted properties. A below market value proven property with
good rents is always in vogue and meets the test of time.

5. Hire Professional Real Estate Investment Consultants

The safest approach, of course, is to avoid the risk of losing
your investments to wrong decisions and lack of knowledge by hiring
professional real estate investment consultants. However this group
is few and far between to find since they often just work for
themselves or large institutions. The right Professional consultants
are not only well aware of the most potentially profitable investment
properties, the best locations and the best times, but are also well
aware of all the different legal and financial implications of your
investment. This, again, is one of the primary reasons why real
estate investment consultants, like National Realty InvestmentAdvisors have been hugely successful, providing both undervalued locations,
under value construction builds, coordinated financing, five-year
rent guarantees, and 10 years of no property tax in the right
locations.

As National Realty Investment Advisorsexperts affirm, the real estate
market has seen a drastic turnaround and now is a promising time to invest in residential properties. It can be intimidating to engage in the real estate market without prior experience. But with knowledge
about the potential risks and benefits, prospective buyers can expect
good things from their investments.

Real estate offers ample opportunity and promise compared with other
types of investments, according to Entrepreneur Magazine. In today’s
market, obtaining a bank loan and leveraging your capital is easy to
accomplish when you’re buying a house.

Real estate investment offers specific tax freedoms that aren’t
available through mutual funds and other investments. According to
Entrepreneur magazine, in most cases, investors won’t pay taxes on their
cash flow if capital is leveraged. They can also benefit from tax
deductions that can be applied to other income. Additionally, investors
can write off business deductions like travel expenses and other costs
incurred to maintain properties.

According to Kiplinger finance advice, mortgage rates are at
historic lows and buyers are feeling confident in the current market.
Home values are looking strong.

Although the market can change quickly, National Realty Investment Advisors’ professionals agree. “It’s the best time to jump on
the train,” said Dan Hirshout, Senior Project Manager. “With
investment grade professionally-managed new construction, you
have built-in equity, top rents and with the 6-year-old Dodd Frank
law regulating all appraisals and bank mortgage practices, (you have)
the most stable realty market in 50 years.”

Jill Sjolin, a real estate agent located in Washington, told MSN,
“We haven’t seen home prices this low in so many years, coupled
with the rates being so low. When the money is cheap to borrow and
the houses are cheap to buy, it’s absolutely the best time to
invest.”

“Home values are stable,“ said Art Scutaro, NRIA Project
Manager. “The lack of supply in the city’s empty lot environment
means they have nowhere to go but up – due to the city’s demand
trend of re-urbanization, there’s a low supply of lots.”

Before you jump into the market, you should learn about the
potential opportunities and risks that it poses. Real estate is
always a risky market, but some strategic decision-making can easily
eliminate the chance of pitfalls. Forbes advises investors to start
by looking for a property that doesn’t require a lot of time or
management – two things that can be very costly. Properties such as
college housing or vacation rentals are two examples that might fall
into the high-maintenance property category.

Kiplinger suggests a few surefire ways to make a profit in the
market. Flipping homes is a common strategy that helped some
investors make a fortune after the housing bubble burst. It’s best
to have cash when buying rundown properties, but keep in mind it is
harder to get a loan when you’re buying a property that isn’t
your primary residence. Plus, many of your competitors will make
all-cash offers.

In a 2013 article, Daren Blomquist, Vice President of
foreclosure-tracking website RealtyTrac, commented that house
flippers “can do very well in a market where home prices are on the
upswing,” and added, “That’s what we’re in right now in many
areas of the country.”

According to Investopedia, flipping houses for profit requires
strategy. Investors should look for homes that look worse than they
really are, such as having cosmetic problems that are easily fixed.
These properties are likely to have a small asking price and can
easily sell for far more with a little bit of TLC. The next step is
to look for sources of the lowest-cost labor and parts with the goal
of minimizing expenses. Home prices are indeed on the upswing in many
parts of the country, which is exactly what fixer-upper investors
should look for when waiting for the most opportune time to buy.

The renters market is huge right now, which offers ample
money-making opportunities for landlords and investors, suggest
National Realty Investment Advisors’ real
estate professionals. In fact, the rate of homeownership in the
U.S. fell to 65.4 percent in 2012. That’s the lowest it’s been
since 1996, based on Census Bureau records. Furthermore, apartment
rents rose 4.1 percent in 2012 and the average interest rate for
30-year, fixed rate mortgages. These numbers add up to promising
profit potential for landlords.

National Realty Investment Advisors Project Support Specialist
Adam Levine adds, “The key is staying in the major growing Cities
where people are flocking due to more job opportunities and the
ongoing Gentrification Re-urbanization mega trends. Both young
professionals and ‘empty nesters’ are flocking to the major
growing cities like Philadelphia and New York because that’s where
the opportunities are and all the energy and entertainment. Rents and
values therefore have to keep moving up because there is nowhere to
live.”

But even the smartest investors can fall into market traps,
according to the investment consultants at National Realty Investment Advisors. Buying a
property for less than it’s worth is always a possibility, but it’s
avoidable. There are a few major factors to ponder whenever you’re
considering a purchase. Pay attention to the quality of the
neighborhood, as location will always determine market value.
Consider the level of property taxes and whether this is something
you can manage. The characteristics of the schools, crime level, job
opportunities and amenities are also game changers.

It’s also important to examine the market in the surrounding
area to get a good idea of what kind of value you can expect from
your return. According to Investopedia, investors should check out
the average rental rates in the local area and see if these will
cover mortgage and expenses. Neighborhoods with an excess of listings
and empty properties are probably not a good place to invest in.

With the housing market on an upswing of recovery, experts,
lenders and market-watchers seem to agree that now is a safe time to
invest. Investors have a slew of options that have the potential for
strong profits in today’s market, including flipping homes and
renting them out. Professionals like National Realty Investment Advisors and the Kiplinger financial advisors suggest that a long as
investors avoid potential pitfalls and the market remains solid, real
estate can be a promising avenue for investment.